Over the past thirty years, the homosexual movement has coalesced into a powerful force for cultural change. In fact, momentum for the normalization of homosexual behavior and relationships is now recognized in large segments of the society as a legitimate interest group. Though the identification of homosexuals as an organized political group was born in 1969 with the Stonewall riots in New York City, it really did not gain any kind of cultural momentum until the 1990s.

In every generation, the church is faced with a certain test-case, a certain issue which is the clearest barometer of the conviction and biblical commitment of the people of God. The church in Germany, for example, faced this sort of question with the rise of Hitler in the 1930s. Today, the church in America faces a secular regime of unrestrained moral revisionism, especially on the issue of homosexuality.

A Lutheran high school in Riverside, California is being sued for discrimination after expelling two students suspected of lesbianism. The case is a bit convoluted, but the arguments put forth by the attorney representing the girls and their parents are very straightforward. Here is a summary from the North County Times in Riverside:

Sometimes, it’s the contradictory headlines that tell the story. Last week, USA Today released a prominent article with the headline: “‘Brokeback’ Rides Into the Mainstream.” The same day, The Los Angeles Times featured a story with the headline, “Can ‘Brokeback Mountain’ Move the Heartland?.” The two articles were poles apart.

Writing in the December 11, 2005 edition of the New York Times, Lisa Baker describes her experience as a surrogate mother. Her self-portait as a surrogate should serve as a warning of what happens when reproduction is severed from marriage and the procreative bond.

As the late Allan Bloom noted, a mind resolutely determined to be absolutely open is often, in actuality, quite closed. The closing of the postmodern mind will present a challenge for the church in this post-Christian age. Swirling worldviews and a reflexive relativism come together to form a mentality often closed to all substantive truth claims. Gathering clouds of darkness and the eclipse of truth present the believing church with a great challenge – will we surrender in a spirit of cultural compliance?

Same-sex civil unions are set to become legal in the United Kingdom today. The civil partnerships will enjoy all the legal and financial protections previously reserved only for married heterosexual couples.

A speaker at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington provides a truly tragic example of how Christians must not talk about homosexuality. This is one of the most serious questions facing the Christian church — a challenge to biblical authority and the knowledge that God orders the structure of human sexuality.

Carol Sarler wants to enter into a civil union with her adult daughter. Nothing incestuous or lesbian, mind you. She just wants the tax savings and other benefits that come with the civil unions. Writing in today’s edition of The Times [London], Sarler argues: